Bill Cosby's Conviction Overturned By Pennsylvania Supreme Court
(Harrisburg, PA) -- Bill Cosby's conviction for sexual assault is being overturned. NBC News reports he could be released from a Pennsylvania state prison in a matter of hours. The state Supreme Court issued an opinion today to overturn his conviction. His lawyers appealed to the court in December, arguing his trial was tainted because it allowed past alleged sexual assaults to be presented. The 83-year-old Cosby has served more than two years of a three- to ten-year sentence for the 2004 assault of Andrea Constand.
During his trial, the prosecution allowed five other accusers to testify about alleged sexual assaults Cosby committed in the 1980s. At the time, some legal experts warned that allowing other accusers to testify could be grounds for an appeal. It's unclear if prosecutors will appeal. The "Philadelphia Inquirer" reports the ruling bars any retrial in the case. Cosby was found guilty of drugging and molesting Constand. He had refused to offer any remorse over the crime and vowed instead to serve all ten years of the sentence rather than be contrite at his parole hearings. The conviction shocked the nation, who had come to know the comedian as "America's Dad" after the highly successful "Cosby Show."
.@danabrams on Bill Cosby being released from prison: The court "didn't declare that Bill Cosby didn't do this...they're deciding a legal question here." https://t.co/yuM413mOS1pic.twitter.com/0OYVzBBLba
— Good Morning America (@GMA) June 30, 2021
NEW: @AaronKatersky details why the Pennsylvania Supreme Court vacated Bill Cosby's 2018 sexual assault conviction. https://t.co/lwlGLvjeLjpic.twitter.com/zMN3qtRGDA
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) June 30, 2021